Ravens V Colsts

Written by Marc Jenkins | 22 January 2010

AFC Divisional Playoff Game - Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

This gridiron matchup began similar to a heavyweight boxing bout between two prize fighters with each throwing jabs to feel one another out; until Indianapolis landed two enormous haymakers in the final minutes of the first half which left Baltimore woozy and unable to recuperate. Even without that the left hook and right uppercut that the Colts offense threw, former Raven kicker (and franchise all-time leading scorer) Matt Stover would have beaten Baltimore alone with his two field goals as Indianapolis prevailed 20-3.

With the scored tied at 3-3, Peyton Manning (30-44 246 yards, 2 TD, INT) hooked up with rookie wideout Austin Collie on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:00 minutes remaining in the first half giving the Indy lead to 10-3. The lead grew to 17-3 just moments later as the Colts defense stopped the Ravens on three plays which allowed Manning and their offense to cash in on an eight-play, 64-yard scoring drive which was capped by a three-yard Reggie Wayne touchdown reception from Manning. In the second quarter alone the Colts offense gained 127 yards and picked up nine first downs as opposed the Ravens abysmal totals of 9 yards and zero first downs.

Things didn’t get better for Baltimore in the second half as they were obviously confused by the Indianapolis defense as Joe Flacco (20-35 189 yards 2 INT) was forced to burn a timeout in the very first minute of the third quarter. The Baltimore offense failed to move the ball throughout the second half and their fate was sealed early in the fourth quarter when Ray Rice fumbled on the Indianapolis 20 yard line with slightly over 11 minutes left to play.

The underappreciated and often criticized Colts defense was quick, dominate and physical holding the Ravens to just 270 yards of offense, 12 first downs and caused four turnovers. Even more surprising was the fact that a defense that had allowed 126.5 rushing yards per game during the regular season held a power rushing attack (averaged 137.5 per game in regular season) to just 87 yards on the ground. For game at least it seemed that the extra rest for many of the Indy defensive starters provided a huge return for them and their fans.

Just like any well-oiled, fine tuned machine the Colts didn’t seem to miss a beat following resting their starters for most of the final two games of the regular season and their opening round postseason bye week. As for the Ravens, they seemed far from team that the destroyed the New England Patriots in the divisional round and more like a team that had never participated in playoff game before. This loss marked the seven consecutive (regular and postseason combined) which the Ravens have suffered by the hands of the first pro-football franchise from Baltimore, Maryland.

The undefeated regular season that wasn’t talk has ceased for now but the only true way for it to be buried forever is for Jim Caldwell, Manning and the rest of the Colts organization to be the ones hoisting the Lombardi trophy in a few weeks.

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